Today In NBA History – OCT 1

October 1, 1986
Several NBA stars and other members of the league’s family gathered in New York for the taping of a special series of anti-drug public service announcements entitled “Don’t Foul Out.”

October 1, 1999
Boston Celtics legend Kevin McHale, former Cleveland Cavaliers president and COO Wayne Embry and late Fort Wayne and Detroit Pistons owner Fred Zollner lead a class of five basketball immortals who are enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

October 1, 1999
Boston Celtics legend and Hall of Famer Bill Russell, who led the franchise to 11 NBA Championships in his 13 seasons from 1956 until 1969, is the subject of ESPN’s SportsCentury series. Russell was selected by a distinguished panel of 48 journalists, historians, observers and administrators as #18 on the list of the greatest North American athletes of the 20th Century.

October 1, 2002
Wang Zhizhi signed a contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, resulting in Wang becoming the first player from the People’s Republic of China to play in the National Basketball Association.